My kind of town, Chicago is

We waited decades for one of our companies to send us to the Windy City for some conference, but it never seemed to work out.  So in May 2010 Mary and I decided to finally spend a long weekend in Chicago on our own dime for my 50th birthday.  No regrets.  Chicago is a must-see for anyone who loves museums or architecture.  Or a walkable big city.  For 3 days we strolled down Michigan Avenue until our feet were throbbing.

We wanted an older hotel so we chose The Allerton Hotel on The Magnificent Mile.  Smallish hotel room, but it suited us fine.

The hotel was perfectly located to see most of the famous Chicago sights.  But our time was limited and we only walked South each day.  Therefore we did not go North and see Wrigley Field or the Lincoln Park Zoo (very unlike me to pass up a zoo) or the Chicago History Museum.

The first day we took an architectural boat tour of the city.  It doesn't matter which tour company you choose.  All of the tours cost the same and they're all 90 minutes long and it is something you have to experience.  The camera cannot really capture the grandiose buildings, but I do have to include this one shot for any Wilco fans who like the cover of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"

That is the Marina City complex, designed in 1959 by Bertrand Goldberg and constructed 1961-1968.

The other days were spent going down to see The Art Institute of Chicago and The Field Museum.  You can click the links if you want to go through the buildings.  I must post one photo since I have always wanted to pose with Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex ever found:

One pleasant surprise along Michigan Avenue was Millennium Park, which has The Bean.  The public sculpture is named Cloud Gate, but everyone calls it The Bean and these shots show why it has become a tourist destination since its dedication in 2006.

We were fortunate that the weather was spectacular on the first weekend in May.  Bad weather would preclude the boat tours on the river, but you could still take public transportation to the museums (and maybe do a dinner cruise out on the lake).  Luckily we had clear blue skies and enjoyed these sights as we walked South with Lake Michigan on our left:

I have not mentioned food in this post because that was the one thing that was not memorable about the Windy City.  Perhaps it was bad luck, but the two fine restaurants where we ate did not impress us.  Chicago hot dogs are still hot dogs (just don't put ketchup on them).  Lastly, we are on Team John Stewart when it comes to NYC Pizza > Chicago Deep Dish Pizza.

PIZZA vs. Tomato Soup in a bread bowl indeed!